Red tide forces early clam flat closures

YORK, Maine — Red tide warnings forced the Maine Department of Marine Resources to issue its first clam flat closures of the season on Wednesday, a month earlier than usual.

Susan Morse

YORK, Maine — Red tide warnings forced the Maine Department of Marine Resources to issue its first clam flat closures of the season on Wednesday, a month earlier than usual.

"This is extremely early; we typically don't do closures until the end of April," said Darcie Couture, director of the Biotoxin Monitoring Program for the state.

Couture said the unusually warm weather is affecting red tide algae blooms and other plants, which are budding early this year. Also, strong northeast winds are pushing the red tide into shellfish beds, she said.

"I don't think it will be too much longer that we'll have additional closures for mussels," said Couture. "It's lining up to be a very bad year."

Red tide occurs when algae blooms in spring and forms large patches of "cysts" at sea, according to Couture.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration does counts and has found the cyst patches to be "massive," said Couture. "It extends down to Massachusetts Bay. In the coming year, there are a huge amount of cysts out there. It's a huge problem this year."

The Maine Department of Marine Resources on Wednesday banned the harvesting of surf and hen clams, which are bigger than the traditional steamers, in certain coastal areas such as Harpswell. The state also closed the harvesting of mussels in Brunswick and of carnivorous snails in some areas, according to Couture.

Surf and hen clam harvesting has been banned in York since 2009 due to red tide, she said.

"Surf and hen clams tend to hold toxins for a long time," Couture said.

The York flats are also currently closed for the digging of steamer clams due to high bacteria counts caused by flooding, according to York Clam Warden David Webber.

Webber said Thursday he is awaiting state test results to see if the flats can reopen for steamer clam harvesting on Sunday, March 28. The clam flats in York are planned to open on Sundays through April 25.

"We're hoping the flats will be open before Sunday," said Webber. "We've got lots of clams; we've been open and closed because of the rain."

York opened for clamming on Jan. 1. The town has sold more than 100 licenses, more than usual, according to Webber. This is because York is among the few towns in southern Maine open to clamming due to a tight state budget strapped for water quality inspectors.

Clam licenses cost $15 for York residents and $30 for nonresidents. The Maine shellfish industry is prepared for red tide closures, said Couture. They may buy from Canada or elsewhere, she said.

"Harvesters will try to find other areas; dealers will buy from other sources. People should go out and order big plates of steamers, otherwise they (those who make money from shellfish) suffer twice," she said, first from the loss of the harvest and then from lack of sales.

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